Candidates told: File COCs within office hours

NO MORE dramatic and last minute filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC) before the clock strikes twelve midnight of October 5.

Lawyer Modesto Bahul Jr., Commission on Elections (Comelec) city election officer, reminded politicians that filing of COCs on October 1 to 5 is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. only.

“We don’t see the reason why they have to wait for the last hour or minute up to 12 midnight when they are given five days to file their COCs,” he said.

Candidates in 2009 were given 11 days to file their COCs but Comelec en banc Resolution 12-1039 reduced this to five days.

Bahul said voter’s registration, renewal and other transactions with their office will be temporarily suspended during the filing period.

Meanwhile, Comelec-Baguio has been conducting offsite registration in villages to lessen the bulk of the new voters who usually flock to their office before the October 31 deadline. This, according to Bahul, has proven to be effective in reducing registrants in their office. 

Comelec-Baguio has scheduled the remaining days of the month for offsite registrations at Fort Del Pilar village on September 20; District 19 comprising Aurora Hill Proper, Brookside, Brookspoint, Easte Modernsite, Lopez Jaena and West Modernsite on September 21 (tentative); District 20 comprising Holy Ghost extension, Holy Ghost proper, Honeymoon, Imelda Village and M. Roxas-Teacher’s Camp on September 22 at the Holy Ghost Extension barangay hall.

Other tentative schedules for offsite registration are District 10 comprising Kabayanihan, Kagitingan, Harrison-Carantes, Lower General Luna, Malcolm Square, Salud Mitra, Session Road and Upper General Luna and Bishop’s House residents at the Bishop’s House CRC Hall on September 26.

Registrants from Fairview and District 7 that include Central Guisad, Cresencia Village, Guisad Surong, Lower Magsaysay, Padre Burgos, Padre Zamora and Pinsao Pilot Project will be having offsite registrations at the Fairview barangay hall on September 25.

District 5 registrants from City Camp, QM and Quarry barangays are scheduled for offsite registrations on September 27 at the City Camp Central Barangay Hall while District 13 comprising Camp 7 and 8, Military Cut-off, Poliwes and San Vicente will be having offsite registrations at the Camp 7 barangay hall on September 29.

The election officer shared most of the transactions in their office involve new registrants, transfer of residence and reactivation of voter’s status.

He said they will no longer schedule offsite registrations in barangays once they resume registrations at Comelec-Baguio on October 8 after the filing of COCs until the end of the month deadline.